Background: Urban Health is a new arena in India as well as other developing nations on the other hand these countries are rapidly urbanizing. Climate Change is likely to pausing more serious challenges in urban area. There is an urgent need to research and document Urban Health and Climate Resilience challenges and solutions as well as to design appropriate need based trainings and network of the institutions to strengthen and spread the evidence based knowledge and skill. While the situation of urban health has been attracting little attention, the health department within Surat Municipal Corporation has been continuously improving their systems since 1990’s.
Surat city with 4.4 million populations (Census 2011) ranks 2nd in Gujarat state and 12th in India as the most populous city. Surat one of the few clean cities of India has earned several awards for initiatives in urban development, urban health, and urban environment. Today city claims to have a model urban health administration and service infrastructure.
As a response to the emerging need of urban health and climate resilience, the history of Surat with respect to its health systems qualifies it be an ideal location for the establishment of the centre in India.
Objective: Establishing an Urban Health and Climate Resilience Centre which could help Surat and other municipalities to improve their urban health management through evidence-based research, improved surveillance, and the development of operating procedures among city lifeline services departments.